The end of winter, Annapolis Valley

Before the official end of winter yesterday, the snow in the Annapolis Valley and the South Shore had mostly melted. A layer of ice, the remnant of sunny days and cold nights, was the last thing to leave our lawn; it took days to melt. We enjoyed a March Break trip to the Valley, and [...]

Red sky at morning, sailors take warning

Another storm is on its way.  This one is the kind of blizzard you’d expect in January, with 10 to 15 cm (4 to 6 inches) of snow. Atlantic Canada has been in the news lately with a series of storms in December, one week after another.  If you just watched the weather channel you [...]

More New Nova Scotia Photos

What to do when it’s pouring rain? Get new photos into the Nova Scotia Photo Album, of course. I just uploaded several new Panoramas and fleshed out the Annapolis Valley section.

It’s an early spring

Apple blossoms were blooming in Lunenburg last Thursday, which means they’re past their prime in the Annapolis Valley already.  The Apple Blossom Festival will apparently be blossom-less.  Usually the organizers hit the blossoms right on with their timing, but this year it is generally agreed that spring is 2 to 3 weeks ahead of schedule. [...]

Lake country is cottage country

Nova Scotia has so many beautiful lakes.  Some of them are lined with cottages.  In Cape Breton family cottages are called “bungalows”.  Other lakes are in wilderness areas and may hide traditional camping spots known to a few fishermen, hunters and back-country campers. I camped out last weekend next to the cottage of friends on [...]

Waiting for Hurricane Bill

“Batten down the hatches” – it’s an old expression from the days of “wooden boats and iron men” and describes perfectly what Nova Scotians are doing as Hurricane Bill approaches our shores. Memories of 2003′s Hurricane Juan, which hit Halifax hard, are fresh in our minds. There’s a sense of anticipation in the air, weighted [...]

Annapolis Valley Panoramas

I was in the Annapolis Valley last week on a beautiful spring day, and have added some panoramas to the Photo Album.

Spring Leaf-out in the Annapolis Valley

http://vimeo.com/moogaloo

I had the pleasure of going to the Annapolis Valley yesterday on business.  The leaves are not really much further along there than here on the South Shore, depending where you are.    I noticed a familiar Valley odour, too – a combination of green growing things and the smelly stuff that helps them grow.  No [...]

Annapolis Valley Woodpecker in Sticky Situation

Indigo Bunting

Yesterday, Dennis Robinson, the Chickadee Dude (see our Chirbles the Chickadee pictures), spotted an indigo bunting, described by the Peterson guide as “casual” to Nova Scotia, in the Annapolis Valley. The startlingly blue-feathered bird watched the chickadees from afar.  But finally, he decided that the chickadees had a good thing going and decided to check [...]